Hospital gown



13, 1964 c. A. MATTHEWS 3,144,659

HOSPITAL GOWN Filed April 10, 1962 INVENTOR CL INTO/V 4. MA TTHEWS Bygtrewgs w ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,144,659 HOSPITAL 'GOWN Clinton A. Matthews, P.O. Box 28, Paris, Tenn. Filed Apr. 10, 1962, Ser. No. 186,444 1 Claim. (Cl. 2-83) This invention relates to a hospital gown for patients and, generally, is an improvement in the gown shown and described in my previous Patent No. 2,886,822, issued May 19, 1959.

The present gown incorporates the advantages set forth in the above-mentioned patent, such as reducing wrinkling and gathering, facilitating nursing needs, giving adequate covering, and providing a pleasing appearance. In addition, the present invention has the objective of providing a gown that maintains the advantages but lessens the cost of manufacture.

A further objective of the invention is to provide a gown that gives an ambulatory patient greater freedom of motion.

A further objective of the invention is to provide a gown construction designed to take stress off the fastening means which hold the gown to a wearer.

Further objectives and advantages of this invention will be apparent from the following description and claim, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein the construction, arrangement and cooperation of the several parts are set forth.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a front elevation of the invention with one leg in an open position and the other leg in a closed position;

FIGURE 2 is an elevational view of a portion of the front panel prior to stitching;

FIGURE 3 is an elevational View of a portion of the rear panel prior to stitching; and

FIGURE 4 is a rear perspective of the gown on a wearer.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, the invention comprises a hospital gown generally designated by the numeral 12. Basically, the gown is comprised of a rear section 14 and a front panel 16. Although longitudinally a single piece of cloth, the front panel can be said to comprise a torso section 18 and a bottom or leg section 20. The line of division is approximately midway the length of the panel 16.

The torso section 18 has a complementary periphery with the rear section 14 and is joined thereto by stitching 22. As can be seen in the drawings, a neck opening 24 and arm openings 26 and 28 are provided. A portion 30 of the periphery extending between neck opening 24 and the arm opening 26 is equipped with opening and closing fastening means, such as snap fasteners 32.

A placket 34 extends downwardly from neck opening 24 approximately two-thirds the length of 18 and is equipped with snap fasteners 35. The rear panel 14 extends approximately one-half the length of front panel 16, and is terminated by a free lower edge 36.

The leg or bottom section 20 begins at points 38 and 40 which terminate the edge 36. The section then flares outwardly along edges 40 and 42 to points 44 and 48. The section is divided into a pair of leg coverings 45 and 47 by a cut 50. The bottom edges 52 and 54 complete the leg outlines by joining the edges of the cut 50 to edges 40 and 42. A pair of snap fasteners 56 and 58 are placed along the edges 52 and 54 so that when the leg sections are wrapped about the legs of a patient, they can be secured.

When it is desired to place the garment on a patient, one merely slips one of the patients arms through opening 28 and slides the rear section 14 underneath the patient. With the snap fasteners 32 and 35 unsecure, this is a readily accomplished procedure. After the patient is generally oriented within the garment, fasteners 32 and 35 are snapped into position. Subsequently, the flared portions of the bottom section are wrapped around the patients legs and the snap fasteners 56 and 58 connected.

The gown construction described substantially covers the patient when he is in a prone position and gives him considerable freedom of movement when in an erect, walking position.

It can be seen that I have described a gown which is readily placed on a patient, which gives him freedom of movement and, at the same time, provides adequate covering.

In addition, the gown described is of a convenient manufacture. As seen in FIGURE 2, the front panel is formed from a single pair of blanks having a periphery designated by the numeral 60. Likewise, in FIGURE 3, there is shown a blank 62 which, with another blank the mirror image thereof, provides a back covering. In other words, in the manufacture of the gown, only stitching and snap fasteners need be added to these blanks.

It is to be understood that even though there is herein shown and described a preferred embodiment of the invention, the same is susceptible to certain changes fully comprehended by the spirit of the invention as herein described and the scope of the appended claim.

I claim:

A hospital gown for the human body comprising a front panel of first length formed of a torso section and a skirt section, a rear panel complementary with said torso section and having a second length about one-half of said first length, said rear panel and torso joined along portions of their complementary edges, said rear panel terminated by a lower straight edge in the same plane as the division line between said torso section and said skirt section, said torso section and rear panel having a neck-receiving opening and arm openings defined therebetween, said torso section having a front middle cut from said neck-receiving opening to substantially said skirt section, snap fasteners to close said cut, second snap fasteners permitting opening and closing an edge portion of said complementary edges running between said neck opening and one of said arm openings and between said last mentioned arm opening and said division line, such that when said cuts are open and said edge portion is open, a wide opening is provided for placing said gown on the human body, said skirt section having a substantially straight bottom-most edge parallel with said lower edge of said rear panel, said skirt section having a center cut from the bottom-most edge thereof perpendicularly directed toward said lower straight edge and extending approximately two-thirds the length of said bottom panel and dividing said panel into a pair of leg sections, said skirt section being approximately the same width as said torso section at said line of division, the sides of said skirt section from said line to said bottom-most edge flared outwardly to said bottom edge an amount such that said bottom-most edge is approximately twice the width of said torso section.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,451,095 Greene Apr. 10, 1923 1,582,385 Dauphinais Apr. 27, 1926 1,711,172 Longfellow Apr. 30, 1929 2,886,822 Matthews May 19, 1959 FOREIGN PATENTS 184,718 Great Britain Aug. 24, 1922 

